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Monday, March 26, 2012

Evan Craft: Giants Review

Dream Records has signed some fantastic artists and released fabulous albums recently. Meet Evan Craft, already known in churches around the country for his soulful pop. Already, the single from Evan Craft’s Dream Records debut Giants, “Broken Heart,” is creating a buzz at Christian radio, and the album has already been leaked on Dream Records’ Youtube page. Evan explores a variety of topics and musical genres with his debut, even adding a twist of hip-hop to certain of his tracks. The album also includes a Spanish track, showing off his love for Spain, where he traveled for a missions trip last fall.

“Sky is Falling” opens the album fantastically. The strong contemporary track introduces Evan’s mature and clear vocals. Harmonies throughout the chorus and the poetic lyrics make it a track easy to crank up and sing along to! It’s a fantastic opening track, and the country elements added make it very full. The 50-second interlude track “Fight or Flee” is mostly acoustic, explaining the title Giants that Evan chose for the album title. It naturally leads nicely into the title track, very powerful with the lyrics that with God, we can face any giants in our life. Especially thought-provoking are the emphatic lyrics of the chorus: “The bigger they are, the harder they fall/ If its You and me, we can take them all/ I will have no fear, fighting life by your side/ Oh if everyone did know…” There is a nice bridge of lead guitar where Evan’s vocals raise a bit, speaking of how nothing is impossible with God. As the climax of the album, “Giants” is fantastic, a very encouraging and personal track.

The nice acoustic track “Get Up” speaks strongly about our fear of sharing the love of Christ: “Jesus did not come so I could take my sweet time or be ashamed to spread His name/ let not another chance slip away to tell the lost of His fame, so now I will sing to all you saved,” Evan shares in the song. It’s a strong and somewhat-uncomfortable wakeup call, but it also encourages the listener that it’s as easy as representing Him in our daily life. The track builds up excellently too, and is followed by the unedited single “Broken Heart,” which is fantastic! The piano twist to this upbeat pop track is a sweet treat for the ears, featuring a rap for the bridge. Especially enjoyable, beside Evan’s awesome vocals, is the answer to the question, “Can love heal a broken heart?” with “Love came to take it all away and I feel forever grateful.” I really hope to see this single go far and wide – its message is phenomenal and powerful.

And from there, the album goes uphill. “Reclaim follows,” with battle lyrics and an emphatic drumbeat that accentuates the lyrics well: “We will Reclaim treading dangerous waters/ To save the sons and daughters of the king of kings fighting battles on our knees/ My heart breaks until all are healed in His name/ And they come to know his unyielding grace/ That will be the day oh the day when He Reclaims.” Evan’s rapping is very enjoyable, making “Reclaim” my personal favorite off Giants. I can’t get enough of Evan’s amazing vocals! “Human” follows, addressing the problem of suffering and the day we see Jesus face-to-face. It’s a bit hard to follow, in my opinion, but is a very beautiful track that speaks of miraculous healing.

“Fighting Gravity” with a grunge guitar opening and Evan’s fast-paced vocals speaks of how we can stand strong when we know that Jesus is our sure foundation, while “Lay Me Down” is more on the soft acoustic side again speaking of healing for a broken heart. “Clarity” becomes more upbeat with strong guitars and nice harmonies, and Evan’s poetic song writing is again obvious: “I want to see with clarity, I want to love with all of me.” The acoustic “No Hay Nadie” (translated “No One Like Our God”) ends the album, a soft acoustic Spanish song for Evan’ Spanish audience. But I dare say those who don’t know English will very much enjoy the sincerity and sereneness that flows from it nevertheless.

The musical creativity in Giants is astounding! Evan Craft’s vocals, in addition, are phenomenal, as he experiments with worship, contemporary, and hip-hop all on one album, not to mention a Spanish track! This is an album I will definitely be playing often, and I will also be eagerly anticipating follow-up music from one of my new favorite male vocalists!

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